Using Functional AI to Automate Document Workflows
A recent study conducted by Nitro found that 75-95% of employees and executives surveyed use AI for document processing, including data extraction, PDF tasks, and contract summaries.
However, when these individuals don’t have access to the right type of AI tools, they report turning to unapproved solutions (or shadow IT) to accelerate workflows, creating security and compliance risks.
Enterprise AI: The Reality Behind the Hype
To reinforce the importance of providing teams with the right AI tool for the right job, let’s look at the difference between chatbots and functional AI in terms of automating document workflows.
Chatbots are great for ad hoc tasks that follow a set of pre-programmed actions, but they are not designed to enforce consistent formatting, editing or compliance rules, nor to extract data hidden deep within document tables, images or free text.
Unlike chatbots, functional AI can physically perform data writing, conversion, and extraction tasks directly within business processes and systems, rather than simply responding to prompts.
This guide explains why scaling document workflows requires both conversational AI to answer common questions and functional AI to perform repeatable tasks on a high volume of documents with consistency, control, and predictable cost.
Chatbots vs. Functional AI: What’s the Difference?
Chatbot AI and functional AI play distinct roles in document workflows: AI-assisted chatbots answer questions and help users understand documents through conversation. Functional AI performs tasks directly on documents, such as redaction, data extraction, and file conversion.
Which chatbots and functional AI do best:
Chatbots:
- Respond to prompts and questions
- Help summarize or generate content
- Improve individual productivity
Functional AI:
- Automatically run document-related tasks
- Process files at scale
- Integration into workflows and systems
Benefits of Using Functional AI to Automate Document Workflows at Scale
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Functional AI tools autonomously perform editing, writing, conversion, and data extraction tasks within workflows, not just through user prompts. This intelligent automation brings several benefits to teams processing a high volume of documents:
Improve writing and compliance
AI can identify and remove sensitive information across large sets of documents, applying consistent rules without the need for manual review.
Simplify document conversion and management
Users can reduce friction and save time by using the same tool to convert files, edit PDFs, and standardize formats within a single workflow.
Extract structured and unstructured data
Functional AI can extract key data from contracts, forms, tables, handwritten notes and PDFs, transforming static documents into usable information.
Reduce tool proliferation and shadow IT
By consolidating document tasks onto a single platform, functional AI reduces the need for multiple solutions and unapproved tools.
Perfectly provision license usage
Universal access to key document features allows organizations to align licensing with actual usage instead of over- or under-provisioning.
Create more predictable software costs
Replacing fragmented tools that result in usage-based overruns with a functional AI solution that provides a controllable pricing structure makes it easier to forecast and control costs.
Nitro understands the importance of providing your team with the right AI tools at the right time. Thus, we offer both generative AI and functional AI solutions that support and simplify document workflow automation.
Nitro AI Assistants Improve How Teams Interact with Documents
Nitro’s AI-powered solutions, like Document Assistant and Knowledge Assistant, reduce the time spent searching for information or learning how to use our solutions.
- Documentary assistant: Allows users to ask questions on a PDF, summarize content, or translate information
- Knowledge Wizard: Provides real-time help with product features and workflows
Nitro’s functional AI tools automate document tasks at scale
Nitro’s functional AI tools reduce manual effort, improve accuracy, and enable teams to manage higher document volumes without increasing workload.
- Nitro Smart Writing: Identifies sensitive information in documents and flags them for deletion, reducing manual review time
- Extract from the form: Extracts key information from PDFs and converts them into structured data
- Extract from the table: Transforms table data into clean, usable spreadsheets
- Create a form: Converts static documents into fillable forms
- Field detection: Automatically places signature and input fields for document workflows
All of Nitro’s AI-powered solutions include enterprise-grade security and compliance that protect sensitive data throughout the document lifecycle. Visit the Nitro Trust Center to learn more.
Functional AI sets the standard for document workflow automation
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Our research is clear: when AI brings specific, measurable benefits to your document workflows, the results are high adoption, time savings, and measurable ROI.
If you want to transform and automate your document workflows, Nitro’s functional AI solutions are a top choice for processing high volumes of documents, consistent rules-based automation, and reduced reliance on manual labor.
Explore Nitro’s AI workflow tools.
